BOMBSHELLS: Miller scares up some laughs with O’Shea costume for Halloween practice

The ghost of CFL seasons past made an appearance at Investors Group Field on Halloween, taking the form of Mike O’Shea, circa 1993.

Special teams ace Mike Miller wore an O’Shea costume for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice Wednesday, drawing laughs from his teammates and even the head coach himself.

“It was pretty funny,” O’Shea said.

Miller drew inspiration for the costume from old clips of O’Shea from his days as a terrorizing middle linebacker with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argos.

“It was a spitting image of all the old clips I’ve seen of Osh,” Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols said. “I think he had a good laugh about it. It was a very well done Halloween costume.

“Grey short shorts, with off-white socks, with old-school cleats and the cowboy collar … the whole getup was pretty good. Even the long-flowing blond hair that Osh used to have, kind of strawberry blond. It the perfect guy for it. It got all the guys laughing and for sure things like that are things you remember for seasons as you look back.”

Despite it being a frigid day, on which some coaches were wearing winter parkas, Miller stuck it out for the whole practice in shorts and no sleeves.

He also wore a visor on his helmet, which was one of his only possible slip-ups.

“I thought he had it down pretty pat although I’m not sure about the visor and the hand warmer,” O’Shea said.

“Otherwise it was good.”

HISTORY BEDAMNED

Only twice in the last 35 years has a CFL team come from third place in its division to win the Grey Cup.

It’s very hard for a team to win two games on the road in order to get to the CFL championship game, but O’Shea has never been one to let that kind of history affect his way of thinking.

“It’s a good thing we don’t pay attention to that crap,” O’Shea said.

“Over the last couple of years we’ve played well on the road and it’s something the players enjoy, being out on the road together. They obviously have a great understanding that playoff football and beating any opponent in a playoff game on the road is challenging, but I don’t think it’s anything they would shy away from.

I don’t think we’re gonna spend any time talking about it. The fact is, if you want to get to where you want to get, you have to win and if it’s on the road, so be it.”

TOUGH CHOICE FOR MOP

Nichols was the Bombers most outstanding player nominee last season and he was asked to weigh in on the very difficult choice between linebacker Adam Bighill and running back Andrew Harris this year.

Basically, he said you couldn’t go wrong with either one.

In the end, the voters from the Football Reporters of Canada — plus O’Shea — picked Bighill, who has been a huge difference-maker on defence all season.

“It’s hard to compare the two, obviously,” Nichols said. “Both have had amazing seasons, amazing careers and they’re amazing teammates. I’m happy to see both those guys get some recognition and I think Bighill has a good chance to win MOP of the league with the season he’s had.

“I knew the day we signed him, what kind of player we were getting and what kind of season-changer that could be for us. Obviously, it hasn’t been a letdown.”

Harris is the Bombers nominee for most outstanding Canadian again this year after he won the league award in 2017.

A NEW PUNTER?

One of the more interesting sights at Bombers practice Wednesday was reserve receiver Ryan Lankford taking turns as punter.

Lankford was a punter in college, in addition to being a very fast kick returner and receiver and he was booming kicks on Wednesday.

He’s been on the practice roster for all but two games this season but could get back into the lineup for Saturday’s game in Edmonton, which has no bearing on the final standings.

So, will he be helping Justin Medlock out with the punting duties?

“At this time of year we can use these practices as an opportunity for the long snapper and some different guys on the punt team just to practice to get those reps,” O’Shea said. “So I’ve made sure the coaches are moving guys around into different spots during the practice week so that more or less as we go along in the playoffs, guys have some reps under their belts.”

O’Shea called it the double insurance scenario.

“Sometimes, you get caught up during the season not rotating some guys through in certain situations,” he said. “It was nice to get Ian Wild some long snaps and some guys in different spots on special teams and moving guys around on offence and defence. You don’t want to get in a situation where you’re really scrambling when two guys go down. We’ve managed to cover a lot of those situations off.”

HASHMARKS

O’Shea said safety Taylor Loffler, who was a late scratch for last Friday’s win over the Calgary Stampeders, will not play again this week but should be available for the Nov. 11 playoff game, either in Regina or Calgary … O’Shea also said that receiver Kenbrell Thompkins, who was in a parka Wednesday at practice, should be good to go in the playoff game … The Bombers top offensive unit on Wednesday featured quarterback Chris Streveler, running back Kienan LaFrance and receivers Daniel Petermann, Rashaun Simonise, Corey Washington and Charles Nelson. In other words, don’t expect starters and stars like Nichols and Harris to see much action. However, both Bighill and top offensive lineman Stanley Bryant said they will be playing Saturday in Edmonton.

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